Testimony in the Karen Read murder trial took a dramatic turn Monday when the defense made a calculated attack on the credibility of the prosecution's expert witness.
Digital forensic analyst Shanon Burgess was called by the prosecution to help convince jurors of a timeline around the movements of Read's SUV on the night before John O'Keefe was found in the snow outside 34 Fairview Road.
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WATCH HEREBut during cross-examination, defense attorney Robert Alessi called into question Burgess' expertise and professional credentials, beginning with the bachelor's degree listed on his company's website bio and his published resume. It was revealed that there was a discrepancy — Burgess does not have a bachelor's degree in mathematics, and in fact the school he listed does not offer one.
"Either you have a bachelor of science degree or you don't," Alessi said at one point.
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SIGN UP Burgess maintained that he is pursuing a mathematics degree, saying he has been doing so since 2008.
“If I did the math correctly, you've been pursuing a bachelor of science degree for 17 years, correct?” Alessi asked Burgess, asking him whether he was familiar with the terms “mendacity” and “academic dishonesty.”
Legal experts say this testimony could prove problematic for the prosecution's case
"He's gonna have to have an incredibly strong redirect," NBC10 Boston Chief Legal Analyst Michael Coyne said of special prosecutor Hank Brennan. "But the problem is that the damage has been done. The direct examination was very powerful. It solidified the timeline and the Commonwealth's theory of what happened in this case, but on cross examination, he was shredded. They're going to have to tighten that timeline up... There's really no way to rehabilitate the education part of it. You know, the guys from 'Animal House' finished in fewer than 17 years for their undergraduate degree. So it's really problematic that he would lie on such a basic point."
Coyne said Brennan will have to focus back on the technology, and steer jurors away from questions about Burgess' education.
"In tech, ultimately your degrees don't matter that much. Bill Gates didn't finish college, Mark Zuckerberg didn't finish college. It's a question of expertise, and he's going to have to come back to show that the science is solid."
Peter Tragos, an attorney known for his "Lawyer You Know" YouTube channel, said he was stunned by Burgess' testimony.
"I was so surprised to see an expert who put information that is just blatantly false out there to potential clients, for lawyers to look at," he said. "If he's really testified in four or five different states, how has this never come up before? It was brutal to watch. I had some secondhand embarrassment watching him talk about his credibility issues with his education."
NBC10 Boston analyst and courtroom insider Sue O'Connell was inside court, and said there was "a lot of wincing" by jurors as Alessi cross examined Burgess.
"There was, I think some sympathy, but also some cringing of what was happening," she said. "How this plays for them, I don't know. Will they be sympathetic? Does it impact the testimony he gave earlier?"
Burgess is expected back on the witness stand on Tuesday morning for more questioning on redirect from Brennan.
